Nigeria loses $7bn to oil theft annually – IEA

The International Energy Agency has said that Nigeria is losing about $7bn annually to oil theft.

The agency, in its monthly report released on Tuesday, said “oil bunkering, or theft, costs the government an estimated $7bn in lost revenue per year.”

According to the report, theft and sabotage often lead to pipeline damage, causing oil firms to cut output.

The report also said flooding and large-scale theft of crude drove Nigerian oil output to the lowest level for more than two years in October.

The IEA said in its monthly report that oil production in the country fell to 1.95 million barrels per day in October, with production in recent months having ranged between two million and 2.5 million barrels per day.

The drop from September to October was around 110,000 bpd, it said, leaving Nigerian production at “the lowest level in around two and half years.”

“By early November, production levels were recovering, with export schedules showing increased volumes for December,” it said.

It was enough to keep the country as Africa’s top producer ahead of Angola at 1.79 million bpd, but the drop comes amid growing warnings that the country must take action to avoid stagnant output in the future.

Nigerian oil production sharply rebounded after a 2009 amnesty deal for militants in the Niger Delta region following years of unrest, which had cut output by around half for a period of time.

However, future output is in question over a number of factors, including a long-stalled overhaul of Nigeria’s oil industry that has created uncertainty among energy firms, freezing investment, as well as theft.

Beyond that, a boost in production in the United States — the IEA believes the US will become the world’s top oil producer by 2020 — is also expected to force Nigeria to hunt for new markets. The US has been a major buyer of Nigerian oil exports.

The Federal Government has been seeking for years to pass sweeping legislation to overhaul the country’s oil industry, widely seen as riddled with corruption.

President Goodluck Jonathan sent a fresh version of the bill to parliament in July, but lawmakers are yet to take action.

Uncertainty over new fiscal terms in the industry has led to a slowdown in new investments, which could threaten future production growth if not resolved.

Pastor tunde bakare, please gather your boys for demostrations. we cannot continuel to live with robbers in lagos anymore. fashola most do about it. HELP

Akinvince

The Nigerian govt is the cheif bunkerer. What stops the govt in building new refineries over the years or repairing of d nonfunctioning ones. They refuse because some of them in power are into bunkering. They secretely export oil and collect these monies or even in exchange for ammunitions. Our boarders are just 2 porous. We have seen situations whereby soldiers are the ones driving tankers loaded with oil from bunker sites.
Similarly in northern region where illegal mining activities are going on. Expertrates are in d north mining away our minerals and some ‘big wits’ collect their ‘cuts’ daily. They prone the poor masses in these areas to environmental hazards. I blame the govt and petroleum /solid mineral sector for these. They are the causes of our loses. We will continue to set up probe committees and nothing wld come out of it because those probing or probed are all theives. GOD HELP US.

Oladapo

What about the amount we are loosing to MONEY THEFT?

Nwoye Igweagu

How much do we Gain ???? Where is it ????

sam sam

there is no political will and economical plans to repair and rebuild Nigeria because the fews who are benefitting from the system are blocking the wind of changes. Not untill such wind of changes is powerfull enough in form of revolution to consum the few cabals, our situation will remain like this.

Spokesperson for the Senate Unity Forum, Senator Kabir Marafa, saying his colleagues passed a vote of confidence in Dr. Bukola Saraki’s senate leadership in order to spite President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress leadership.